How long will it take to leave?

Many people are preoccupied with how long it would take to completely withdraw from the EU. According to experts, the minimum time period following the vote to leave would be two years, although it may take considerably longer.

Throughout this time, the UK would be obliged to obey EU treaties and laws, but would not be able to take part in any decision-making, as a withdrawal agreement would not allow for UK influence in EU policies. This would mean that the earliest that we would be fully politically divorced from the EU would be by the end of June 2018.

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What would happen first?

It is likely that a domino effect will ensue, both inside the UK and globally, causing several occurrences to happen at once. Some sources suggest it is possible that David Cameron will resign as Prime Minister in order to make way for another Tory leader in favour of the out vote, who will begin the Brexit process.

What are the next steps involved in the UK’s leaving process?

British politicians will begin in-depth renegotiations with Europe and would be forced to set up new trade agreements both with Europe and the rest of the world. There is a possibility that EU leaders will complicate this process to deter any other EU member states from following in Britain’s example.

Former prime minister Gordon Brown takes part in a Britain Stronger In Europe rally in Birmingham ahead of the EU referendum (Image: Geoff Caddick/PA Wire)

What major changes would occur?

Nobody can say for certain what impacts Brexit will have on the UK, and it may take years for the effects to be keenly felt, as the process would be a gradual one. The economic repercussions of Brexit are likely to be substantial.

It is probable that the value of the pound will drop even lower. Share prices will also fall noticeably, particularly banking stocks and multinationals. The Bank of England may increase interest rates in order to stop the sterling plummeting any further, which would affect the general public in the form of higher costs of mortgages and loans.

There is mush debate regarding what might happen to British house prices. Although no EU citizens will be asked to leave, some concerns exist that millions of EU citizens will voluntarily quit the UK, creating a flood of vacant housing. Other factors that will effect house prices will be the aforementioned interest rates, and the general state of the newly independent British economy.

Many British laws and acts will have to be reassessed and potentially rewritten, as many of them coincide with EU legislation. These laws cover a tremendous variety of issues, including employment rights, environmental protection, and migration. However, if Britain chose to adopt Norway’s model and remain in the European Economic Area, most of the EU-derived laws would be maintained.

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What would happen in Europe and the EU?

On June 28 and 29, EU leaders will meet to discuss the result, and now that Brexit has prevailed, Britain will cause the EU’s Article 50 to take effect; the law that would set in motion the two-year period of the UK’s political detachment from the EU.

However, Eurosceptic cabinet minister Chris Grayling says that Article 50 should not be triggered immediately, which could set back the final Brexit to 2019.

An emergency summit may also be convened in the EU, alongside an emergency meeting of eurozone finance ministers. Brexit will hugely impact the global economy at large.

Certainly, upon confirmation of Britain’s out vote, EU leaders will be hard at work defending the integrity of the Union, and its values, as Eurosceptic politicians from across Europe will use Brexit to promote their own independence from the entity, such as anti-EU populist parties in France, Germany and the Netherlands, which all have crucial elections in 2017.